The First Snowfall at Cair Paravel
by LucyCrewe11
Summary: One year after moving into Cair Paravel, winter returns and while the first snowfall of the year brings excitment to Lucy, Peter, and Susan it brings up some very painful memories for Edmund. Can his silbings help him leave his past behind?


**AN: Okay, so the idea for this one-shot came to me because where I live, it snowed yesterday. And I got to thinking about what the first winter during the golden age might have been like for the Pevensies and I wondered if Edmund had felt uneasy because of what snow would remind him of. And then I thought about how his siblings might have to comfort him. So I came up with this... I hope you like it. it's based off the movie and the book and is slightly AU in some parts. **

The sound of a gently crackling fire could be heard in all the royal bed chambers in the castle of Cair Paravel. The servants had seen to it that the fires were lit, lest their beloved monarchs catch cold.

The good Kings and Queens had been ruling for one full year now and it was the happiest time the Narnians had ever known. Of course it had it's moments where it was dark, even horrid. Moments were one of the kings got word of a bad creature escaped from the army of the late White Witch prowling about the northern western forest or of a rebellious giant attaching the borders of their great kingdom, or that a good tree was about to be cut down, or that some poor soul was to be sent away to school. But the Kings and Queens stood firm and faced these bravely, resolving each problem and letting the light shine on Narnia as its cold dark ages slowly were becoming more and more like a mere dream. A harmless memory no longer to be feared.

Queen Lucy -whom they'd began calling, 'Queen Lucy, the valiant.' amongst themselves due to her great bravery and courage inspire of her tender years-rolled over in her warm swan-feather bed accidentally knocking her velvet blankets and satin sheets onto the floor. She expected an instant shiver but rather felt the heat of the glorious fire. It was the nicest fire she'd felt in a long time. It made her feel warm and gushy, a feeling she usually felt after gulping a mug of hot cocoa while laughing with her family.

It struck her suddenly that the fire was lit because winter had come. It was their first winter in Narnia. Well, actually if was their first _natural_ winter in Narnia. The last one had been because of the White Witch's apparent love of cold hard ice.

Opening her eyes so she could see where the blankets had fallen and if she had any hope of pulling them up without climbing out of bed, Lucy rolled again and leaned over the edge of the mattress.

She caught sight of the window. Great lacey-white snowflakes blew by in the sharp winter wind.

"Snow!" Cried Lucy happily, leaping off the bed and racing over to the window. "It's snowing!"

Two snowflakes hit the glass of the window and showed their different patterns. Lucy remembered how amazed she had been the first time Peter had explained to her that no two snowflakes were alike. These patterns, she decided were much prettier than those in our world. You could almost mistake these for fairy wings or the icing on pastries in fine restaurants.

Not bothering to change out of her bed clothes, Lucy threw open her door and raced down the corridor until she reached Peter's bed chamber. She swung open the door. Then she made a running jump for the bed, landing half on one of her brother's legs and half on an extra pillow made of red silk.

"Peter, wake up!" Lucy cried shaking his shoulder. "Wake up!"

"Whatever you like, Lu." Peter mumbled in his sleep. "If you like it, I like it."

"Come on, Peter!" Lucy shook him a little harder now. "It's snowing!"

Peter finally woke up. He wasn't young enough to get wildly excited over snow but he could easily remember a time when he had been. And Lucy was so small and adorable in all her excitement that he couldn't feel even a little annoyed at being awaked.

"Snow?" Peter asked dumbly, wiping the sleep from his eyes. "Here in Narnia?"

"Yes!" Lucy said gleefully. "Snow, snow, snow, snow!"

"That's great." Peter grinned at her and sank back into the pillows hoping she would let him get just a little more sleep.

"Heaps and heaps of snow." Lucy told him, grabbing his arm and pulling him out of bed, over to the window. "Come and look!"

So much for getting more sleep. Peter let out a yawn.

"Let's go play in it." Lucy beamed at him.

Peter's stomach rumbled. No way was he rolling around in wet cold weather without a proper breakfast first. Not even for Lucy's happiness.

"Come," Peter took her hand. "Let's go down to breakfast. I hear the kitchen dwarfs have finally figured out how to make those chocolate chip pancakes you like."

"How nice!" Lucy forgot about the snow for a moment. "Will there be tea to go with the pancakes?"

"You can have as much tea as you want." Peter assured her, as they walked hand in hand down the long staircase leading into the dinning hall.

Susan was already sitting in her usual place fully washed and dressed before breakfast. She seemed perfectly oblivious to any reason for excitement and was calmly helping herself to a muffin from the sliver tray a dryad had just placed in the middle of the large oak-wood, oval shaped table.

"Susan, did you see the snow?" Lucy asked her excitedly.

Susan clucked her tongue in disapproval noticing that Lucy wasn't dressed yet. "Lu, would it have been so hard to put on some clothes before coming down?"

"Oh bother proper clothes!" Lucy laughed happily. "It's the first snowfall of the year."

Susan noticed Peter wasn't dressed either. "You're setting a bad example for her, going about in your night clothes. Not terribly decent, Peter."

Peter chuckled. "Stop trying to sound so grown up. I'm all covered up. No free show."

Susan rolled her eyes. "You should try to be more like Edmund and me when it comes to grooming and all that."

Edmund shuffled in grunting, "Food please?" Still in his bed clothes, his dark hair all ruffled up and uncombed and his breath smelled like the dinner they'd had last night, only rotten.

"Ed!" Susan scolded. "Why aren't you dressed?" That was the least of it!

"I'm barely awake, Su." Edmund snapped. "I feel cranky. I just want to have breakfast in peace. It jolly well is far too cold today."

"It's a snowy day!" Lucy told him gleefully.

Edmund looked a bit unwell, like he was going to be sick. "Snow?"

"Yes, it's the first snowfall of the year." Lucy said, wondering why her brother looked like he might vomit.

"I see." Edmund answered weakly. "I'm not so hungry all of sudden, I'm going back to my bed chamber." He hung his head and walked slowly out of the room as though he was a weary old man.

"What's wrong with him?" Peter wondered aloud.

"Perhaps he's taken ill." Susan suggested, spreading a little bit of butter onto a piece of her muffin that she had broken off. "Poor thing."

"Poor thing is right." Lucy said, feeling bad for her brother. He was going to miss all the fun! "Of all times to get sick, a snow day is the worst."

"Didn't you once say a sunny day was the worst day to feel sick on?" Susan asked her mainly for amusement rather than as a real question.

Lucy waved that off by flicking the air beside her plate with her hand. "Did I? Oh well, I suppose a snow is just one of the worst days to get sick on all the same."

Up in his chamber, with the covers pulled over his head, Edmund shivered. The door was warm enough but he felt so cold. He wasn't physically sick though. He was healthy as could be. But he shivered because he hated the thought of snow now. It reminded him of what he'd done to the family, selling them out to the white witch for Turkish Delight.

He remembered the last time he'd seen snow before it all melted away in honor of Aslan's return. The witch had just struck him across the face so hard that his lips that had been chapped from cold, cracked open and bled. The force of the slap had knocked him to the ground and all he could see was the dark ruby-coloured scarlet blood falling onto the icy snow he was laying face first in. The cold snow froze the blood that wouldn't clot to his mouth, crusting on like layers. It hurt terribly.

Edmund shuddered. He knew it was silly to be afraid now. It wasn't another hundred year winter. It was just a normal season. Just like fall, spring, and summer. But the sight of those flakes which swarmed about like a heard of angry bees protecting their hive, made him feel so upset that he'd shut the curtains as tightly as possible thus throwing the whole room into darkness. A warm safe darkness.

From outside the window, he heard Lucy's shouts of joy. "Peter, can we build a snowman? Can we? Please?"

Even though Edmund couldn't see her at that moment he could picture her with her little cheeks pinched red with cold and her mitten covered hands pressed together as she begged her brother to help her sculpt the snow into real shapes.

Join in with them, Edmund told himself, you have nothing to fear. You are safe.

He didn't feel safe though. He felt like crying. He let the tears roll freely down his cheeks. They felt hot. Heat at last. Heat was good and safe. Like the heat the came from Aslan's warm Lion-breath as he had spoke to Edmund for the first time after those good Narnians had saved him from the witch's knife. That conversation was private and deep. Most of all, it was rich and warm. Sweet warmth.

Still playing outside, Lucy was suddenly overcome with guilt. Here she was rolling around in the snow having fun, while her poor brother lay ill upstairs. She let go of the snowball she'd been about to throw at Peter and let it fall to the ground with a nearly silent plop.

"I'm going to go in." Lucy told them.

"So soon?" Peter asked, his eyebrows raised in surprise. That wasn't like her. She usually played in the snow until they had to drag her back in doors or else bribe her with something hot to drink knowing she was too cold to resist.

"I'm worried about, Edmund." Lucy said, looking up at the window to her brother's room. "Supposing he's really unwell..."

"Peter, do you think we should call the physician?" Susan was outside, sitting on a blanket spread on in the snow watching them. She was dressed in her long winter coat of black wool that the little woodland animals had made for her a few months ago, and her hands were buried in large soft black muff made from a bear Peter had killed and skinned a week ago (Not a _talking_ bear of course). That question had come from her.

Peter was unsure of what to do. It wasn't like Edmund to take ill so suddenly and he hated physicians even when he needed them. If they called one up to his room now, he'd be furious and unmanageable all day.

"I'll go check on him." Susan decided, getting up and shaking the little traces of white snow off the ends of her coat.

"We'll come with you." Peter said, taking Lucy's hand as she led him back inside the castle.

"Ed?" They called anxiously into his bed chamber, after he didn't answer their knock.

He wanted to answer but knew his voice would give away that he was crying. It was best to stay under the covers and let them muffle his noise.

Susan cracked the door open. "Edmund, are you alright?"

"Yes." Edmund managed to mumble, fighting back a sob. "I'm fine."

Peter walked over to the bed and pulled the covers off his brother.

"Hey!" Edmund snapped at him.

"Oh, Edmund!" Lucy cried, her voice loaded with deep sympathy.

There was no doubt that he had been crying. His nose was the colour of an over-ripe cherry tomato and his eyes were swollen and watery.

"What's wrong?" Susan rushed over and put her hand on his forehead to see if he felt warm.

"Get off me!" Edmund pulled away from her. "I'm fine."

"You don't look it." Peter remarked.

"I don't like winter." Edmund said rather randomly.

"But it's so beautiful." Lucy protested, reaching out and flinging back the curtains in his room letting in the bright winter light.

Edmund let out a whimper. "That's what I thought too."

"What do you me-" Susan started before she caught on. "-Oh."

"It's alright, Ed." Peter said kindly, putting his arm around his brother. "You're safe now."

"I know, I feel so stupid..." Edmund mumbled as Lucy grabbed onto his hand and squeezed it,

"You went through a lot." Susan reminded him. "We ought to have seen this coming."

"It's alright to be afraid." Peter assured him.

"You aren't afraid of anything." Edmund blurted out.

"That's not true." Peter shook his head. "I'm scared of a lot of things."

"Like what?" Edmund demanded. He'd seen Peter fight the most horrid of creatures and barely flinch.

"Well, I'm terrified of losing any of you." He admitted, looking lovingly at his dear siblings. "When I thought Lucy drowned..." He shuddered. "I might have killed myself if she didn't show up moments later asking for her coat." He looked over at Susan. "Or when Su was attacked by those awful wolves..." He tightened his grip on his brother. "And when you were hurt in battle, and didn't get back up..."

"It's still better than being scared of snow." Edmund grumped, pulling himself away.

"Well it's over now." Susan said trying to remain cheerful. "You don't have to think or talk about that awful witch ever again."

"It's like what Aslan said." Lucy added. "There's no need to speak about what has passed."

"That was when I didn't want to talk about it." Edmund said looking a little braver now. "but I think maybe I'd like to tell you all what happened."

"You don't have to talk about it's too painful." Susan moved a lock of Edmund hair away from his forehead.

"No, I think I'm finally ready to talk about it." Edmund looked into their loving eyes and felt less and less afraid.

The three of them curl up on his bed and snuggled close to him to assure him that they were all ears.

"It all started when I followed Lucy into the wardrobe..." Edmund began.

Hours later, he'd finished the story reaching the part where he'd talked with Aslan and was reunited with them.

He looked out at the snow that was still falling and blowing passed the window. Lucy was right, it was beautiful. It wasn't evil. Evil was gone. He stood up and walked over to the window while his siblings looked at him their expressions full of concern. He reached into his wardrobe and put on his winter coat. He turned back to his siblings and nodded at them.

Ever so gently, they got up, took his hands and led him out of the room, down the corridor, and out to the courtyard so he too could enjoy the first snowfall of the season.

**AN: please review!**


End file.
